


Misery's Company

by Lynx212



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist
Genre: Angst, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-01
Updated: 2014-07-25
Packaged: 2017-12-13 15:45:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/826003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lynx212/pseuds/Lynx212
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gracia and Ed watch a situation and don't like what they see. They are trying hard to push their doubts aside but it isn't working... it isn't working at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nothing Special

* * *

Gracia wasn't the brightest bulb in the lampshade but she was far from stupid. She tried to convince herself there was nothing to worry about. She tried to console her wounded ego by saying it was all in the past. She tried to comfort herself by reminding the green-eyed monster within her that they were just good friends.

None of that did a damn bit of good as she stood there watching them talk.

There was nothing special about the conversation. It was about some random office incident Maes found humorous enough to share. Nothing special there.

What was special was the way the two interacted. Standing much closer than necessary but not bothered by the lack of personal space in the least. It was the way Roy watched her husband's lips move as he talked and the way he smiled a bit wider every time Roy laughed like that was his goal all along.

It was the way Maes leaned over him and he leaned into Maes as they spoke that got to her. It was the way they seemed to forget about everything and everyone else in these moments, which threatened to be her undoing.

She refused to give into these feelings. She had resolved that this year would be different but as she looked across her kitchen and met sad golden eyes, she knew she wasn't making a mountain out of a molehill. She watched Ed slowly clear the dining room table off all while stealing wistful glances at the two men talking and thought, _well aren't we a fine pair?_

No Gracia wasn't the brightest woman but sometimes, just sometimes, she wished she was dense enough to miss the obvious. 


	2. Not Her Style

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gracia is trying hard to push her doubts aside, it isn't working.

Gracia was working on a surprise for her husband. He had worked late for the past four nights resulting in him coming home to a cold dinner. Not tonight, tonight she had a plan. She asked Edward over to keep an eye on Elysia so she could go to his office allowing the two of them to have a nice hot dinner together.  
  
It would be like a date.  
  
She parked in front of the building, grabbed the dinners and strolled in. The guards said a chipper hello and she was all smiles as she walked toward his office. Carefully balancing the plates on one arm, she opened the door and froze. The sight of Roy Mustang casually leaning on her husband’s desk made her blood run cold. The fact that the two quit talking the instant they saw her and gave her identical, deer caught in headlight looks, didn’t help.  
  
“Gracia, what are you doing here?”  
  
Not hi Honey, not let me help you with that, not is Elysia ok, just what are you doing here.  
  
When she could finally move she plastered a smile on her face and handed each of them a plate.  
  
“I thought a hot meal instead of a reheated one would be a nice change of pace.”  
  
He smiled at her and the fact that he didn’t question why she had two dinners hurt more than she’d like to admit. When she made a hasty retreat, he didn’t question it nor did he ask her to stay. As the door shut, she could see his attention fall back into dark blue eyes and she wanted to scream.  
  
She didn’t of course, she would never, that wasn’t her style.  
  
Crying silently alone in the car was more her style, and that’s exactly what she did.


	3. Biting His Tongue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed is trying hard to push his doubts aside, it isn't working.

Ed was having a much overdue relaxing lunch with his lover. Their time together had been sparse and he was hoping the world didn’t need saving this weekend because he’d planned on spending it naked under Roy.  
  
The weather was warm so they were eating on Roy’s patio. Ed was in the midst of telling him how Al was doing in his research when the doorbell rang. Roy excused himself to answer it and Ed proceeded to shove pasta in his face.  
  
Time passed and Roy had yet to return. His plate now empty, Ed decided to get seconds and see who had Roy tied up for so long. He entered the kitchen and heard, “Are you up for a night at the Tavern? First round my treat.”  
  
“Sounds good to me, I don’t have any plans.”  
  
Ed flinched, and set his plate on the counter. Appetite gone, he moved to the doorway that led to the living room. Silently he watched the two chatter on about playing darts and how Maes always sucked at it but played anyway because Roy liked the game so much. It was news to Edward, he had no idea Roy liked darts.  
  
He had been leaning on the door-frame for quite sometime before either man noticed him.  
  
“Hey there Ed. I didn’t realize you were here.”  
  
Ed had to bite his tongue not to say,  _“I’m sure he never thought of mentioning it either.”_  
  
“It’s not a problem, Maes. I was just leaving anyway.”  
  
Roy gave him an odd look but he didn’t protest, he didn’t say he’d see him later, he didn’t invite him along to the Tavern either.  
  
Ed couldn’t leave fast enough. He knew there were some things a person couldn’t run from but he was going to try like hell anyway.

 


	4. Midnight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed is tired of playing this game and seeks confirmation.

Earlier Ed had been clad in nothing but the Royal blue silk boxers Roy had gotten him on their one year anniversary. He had showered and left his hair down just the way Roy liked it. Sliced enough strawberries to fill a bowl sat it on the nightstand then draped himself over the bed.   
  
Two hours later he was still watching the minutes tick by on the clock.   
  
Tired of it, Ed dressed himself and tromped through the streets of Central with one destination in mind. The hour was wretched but Ed didn’t care. He was tired of this game and he was going to confirm his suspicion. He could guess where his lover was at… or more like who he was with, but he didn’t want to allow himself the luxury of denial any longer.   
  
After he knocked on the door, it didn’t take long for it to creak open.   
  
“Roy’s not here Ed.”   
  
“I know, I just came to confirm that Hughes wasn’t either.”  
  
She didn’t reply but the look in her sad green eyes said it all. With a mumbled sorry for disturbing you, Ed was about to walk away when she slipped out onto the porch behind him. Under the cover of darkness the two of them stood there silently looking up at the sliver of moon that hung in the night sky.   
  
When he shook his head as his shoulders slumped Gracia said, “It’s ok Ed.”  
  
“No it’s not Gracia and you know that as well as I do.”   
  
When he heard sniffling behind him he wanted to kick himself. The situation wasn’t her fault any more than it was his.   
  
He slipped his hand into hers and gave it a comforting squeeze.   
  
Misery loved company after all. 


	5. Melted Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gracia is still trying to pretend but her resolve is melting away.

They were at the park watching their darling Elysia run around in the grass. In moments like this Gracia could almost forget that all was not well. She could pretend that the dinners she ate alone and the nights she slept in a cold bed didn’t matter. Maes was taking pictures of their little angel and every once in a while he looked up at Gracia and gave her the smile she’d fallen in love with years ago.  
  
A bell chimes in the distance and the little girl knows that means the ice cream truck is nearby. Small pleas for the sugary treat had her father sitting his camera down and promising to bring her back a cone. He disappears in the direction of the noise and the two women in his life patiently wait for his return.   
  
Twenty minutes later Gracia’s patience was spent. _Did her husband have to make the ice cream? What was taking so long?_  
  
Walking toward the shrubs her husband disappeared behind she didn’t have to go far. Before she could round the hedges a voice she knew all too well reached her ears. Despite her current situation even she had to admit the rich baritone that served as Roy Mustangs voice was as hard to mistake as it was unforgettable.   
  
She listened as that voice asked her husband if he was busy tomorrow night and her fist curled in anger as he replied no. Peeking her head around the corner she saw her husband holding two melting cones of cherry ice cream and giving Roy an all too familiar smile. When she stepped into view, Maes flashed her a grin as Roy bid her a bright hello.   
  
Maes extended one cone in her direction and it took everything she had to accept it.


End file.
